Financial Information

Last updated: February 3, 2023

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Overview
Update SEVIS Financial Information
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In this document Designated School Official (DSO) refers to both Principal School Official (PDSO) and DSO, unless otherwise noted.

An F/M student may experience changes in his or her financial situation during a degree program. The DSO must update the student’s financial information in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) when the information changes. The changes must be entered within 21 days, so the updated information is reflected in the student’s SEVIS record and Form I-20.

Refer to the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) for more details:

8 CFR 214.3(g)(2)(ii)(E)

8 CFR 214.2(f)(4)

8 CFR 214.2(f)(1)

The Update Financial Information page is separated into three sections: Financial, Expenses, and Funding.

Financial Section

The Financial section provides a location to enter the number of months that make up the academic year or the length of the program. The fields in the Financial section include:

Field

Description

Estimated costs and funding for* ## months

Number of months for the student’s academic year or the length of the program, whichever is shorter.
This length of time is used as the basis for determining the student’s expenses and funding on the SEVIS Update Financial Information page.
This is a required field.

Remarks about the

Student

Any applicable remarks regarding the student.
This field has a 1,000-character limit and has a Character Remaining countdown indicator.
Comments entered in the Remarks about the Student field on the Update Financial Information page will append to existing remarks in the Form I-20 Remarks field and the Remarks for Student field, if the student has a dependent.

Note: In this user guide, the field for Remarks about the Student is included in the Financial section description, as it is relevant for the whole Update Financial Information page.

Expenses Section

The Expenses section lists the student’s estimated costs for the academic year or the length of the program, whichever is shorter. The fields in the Expenses section include:

Field	Description
Tuition and Fees:*	Estimated average costs of tuition for the academic year or the length of the program. This field has a 10-character limit. This is a required field.
Living Expenses:*	Student’s estimated total living expenses for the academic year or the length of the program. This field has a 10-character limit. This is a required field.
*Expenses for Dependents: ()**	Student’s expenses for his/her dependents, if any, during the academic year or the length of the program. This field has a 10-character limit. This field is required if the student has any dependents. If the student has one or more dependents and an amount is not entered in the field, an error message displays, “Dependent expenses required when dependents exist.” Note: The number of dependents displays by the field name.
Other Costs:	Estimate of any other known student’s expenses, if any, during the academic year or the length of the program. This field has a 10-character limit.
*Specify Other Costs: ()**	If an amount is given for Other Costs, an explanation is required. If an explanation is not entered when Other Costs are given, the validation error displays, “If Other Costs has a value, Specify Other Costs is a required field.” This error must be corrected before proceeding. This field has a 1,000-character limit; however, this description prints on the Form I-20 and the printed Form I-20 has limited space, so all comments may not appear on the printed form.

All dollar amounts must be entered in SEVIS without periods and should be rounded to the nearest dollar. For example, $25,057.89 should be entered in SEVIS as 25058.

Funding Section

The Funding section is a list of student’s funds and funding sources for the academic year or the length of the program, whichever is shorter.

The total amount of funding must be equal to or greater than the total amount of estimated expenses.

The fields in the Funding section include:

Field	Description
Student’s Personal Funds:*	Personal funds available to the student in one academic year, or the length of the program, to defray his or her educational expenses. This field has a 10-character limit. This is a required field.
Funds From This School:	Amount of funding, if any, that the school will provide to the student in one academic year, or the length of the program, to help defray educational expenses. This field has a 10-character limit.
*School Fund Type: ()**	If an amount is given in the Funds From This School field, an explanation is required. If an explanation is not entered when Funds From This School are given, the validation error displays, “If Funds From This School has a value, School Fund Type is a required field.” This error must be corrected before proceeding. This field has a 1,000-character limit; however, this description prints on the Form I-20 and the printed Form I-20 has limited space, so all comments may not appear on the printed form.
Funds From Other Sources:	Amount of funding, if any, from sources not otherwise specified, which is available to the student during one academic year or the length of the program. This field has a 10-character limit.
*Other Source Type: ()**	If an amount is given in the Funds From Other Sources field, an explanation is required. If an explanation is not entered when Funds From Other Sources are given, the validation error displays, “If Funds From Other Sources has a value, Other Source Type is a required field.” This error must be corrected before proceeding. This field has a 1,000-character limit; however, this description prints on the Form I-20 and the printed Form I-20 has limited space, so all comments may not appear on the printed form.
On-Campus Employment:	Amount of funding, if any, the F-1 student will receive from on-campus employment. This field has a 10-character limit. Note: On-Campus Employment funding is only available for F-1 students.

All dollar amounts must be entered in SEVIS without periods and should be rounded to the nearest dollar. For example, $25,057.89 should be entered in SEVIS as 25058.

The Update Financial Information page is only available to the DSO when the student is in Initial or Active status. To update the student’s financial information:

Go to the Student Information page.

2. Click the Edit button in the Financial section. The Update Financial Information page opens.

3. Enter the student’s updated financial information into the fields of the Update Financial Information page. See the General Information section for a description of Financial, Expenses, and Funding fields.

4. Review the financial information and click Update, Cancel, or Print Draft I-20:

Update: Saves the data entered on this page. An Update Successful message opens. Click Return to View Record or Print I-20.

Return to View Record: Opens the Student Information page to view the student's SEVIS record.
Print I-20: Prints the student’s Form I-20.

Students are expected to keep all Forms I-20 issued during their academic career.
When information on the Form I-20 changes, it is best to give a new copy to the student.
Find information on allowable electronic signatures and Form I-20 transmission in SEVP's policy guidance Use of Electronic Signatures and Transmission for the Form I-20.

Cancel: Cancels the action and returns the user to the Student Information page.
Print Draft I-20: Prints a draft copy of the Form I-20 for review.

See the SEVIS Help Icons on the SEVIS Help Hub for a quick-reference of the icons used in this user guide.

SEVIS Help Hub